Mars Evacuees By Sophia McDougall Harper Collins $16.99 ISBN: 978-0-06-229399-2 Ages 9-12 I’ve a nasty habit of finishing every children’s book I start, no matter how dull or dire it might be. I am sort of alone in this habit, which you could rightly call unhealthy. After all, most librarians understand that their time on […]

Boats for Papa By Jessixa Bagley Neal Porter Books, Roaring Brook Press (an imprint of Macmillan) $17.99 ISBN: 978-1626720398 Ages 4-7 On shelves now So I’m a snob. A children’s literature snob. I accept this about myself. I do not embrace it, but I can at least acknowledge it and, at times, fight against it […]

The Case for Loving: The Fight for Interracial Marriage By Selina Alko Illustrated by Sean Qualls Arthur A. Levine Books (an imprint of Scholastic) $18.99 ISBN: 978-0545478533 Ages 4-7 On shelves now. When the Supreme Court ruled on June 26, 2015 that same-sex couples could marry in all fifty states, I found myself, like many […]

Hilo: The Boy Who Crashed to Earth By Judd Winick Random House Children’s Books $13.99 ISBN: 978-0-385-38617-3 Ages 9-12 On shelves September 1st Relentless cheer. You can use it for good. You can use it for evil. You can use it in the name of humor too, but that’s a trickier game to play. I’m […]

Unusual Chickens for the Exceptional Poultry Farmer By Kelly Jones Illustrated by Katie Kath Alfred A. Knopf (an imprint of Random House Children’s Books) $16.99 ISBN: 978-0-385-75552-8 On shelves now The epistolary novel has a long and storied history. At least when it comes to books written for adults. So too does it exist in […]

Finding Winnie: The True Story of the World’s Most Famous Bear By Lindsay Mattick Illustrated by Sophie Blackall $18.00 ISBN: 978-0-316-32490-8 Ages 4-7 On shelves October 20th What is it with bears and WWI? Aw, heck. Let’s expand that question a tad. What is it with adorable animals and WWI? Seems these days no matter […]

On the Shoulder of a Giant: An Inuit Folktale By Neil Christopher Illustrated by Jim Nelson Inhabit Media $16.95 ISBN: 978-1-77227-002-0 Ages 4-7 On shelves now My daughter is afraid of giants. She’s three so this isn’t exactly out of the norm. However, it does cut out a portion of her potential reading material. Not […]

Beastly Verse By Joohee Yoon Enchanted Lion Books $18.95 ISBN: 978-1-59270-166-7 Ages 3 and up On shelves now Poetry. What’s the point? I say this as a woman who simultaneously gets poetry and doesn’t get it. I get that it’s important, of course. I only need to watch my three-year-old daughter come up with an […]

Castle Hangnail By Ursula Vernon Dial (an imprint of Penguin Group) ISBN: 978-0803741294 Ages 8-11 On shelves April 21st These are dark times for children’s fantasy. Dark times indeed. Which is to say, when I pick up a fantasy novel for kids, more often than not I find the books filled with torture, violence, bloody […]

Red: A Crayon’s Story By Michael Hall Greenwillow (an imprint of Harper Collins) $17.99 ISBN: 978-0062252074 Ages 3-6 On shelves now Almost since their very conception children’s books were meant to teach and inform on the one hand, and to inform one’s moral fiber on the other. Why who can forget that catchy little 1730 […]

Tricky Vic: The Impossibly True Story of the Man Who Sold the Eiffel Tower By Greg Pizzoli Viking (an imprint of Penguin Group USA) $17.99 ISBN: 978-0-670-01652-5 Ages 8-11 On shelves now I was listening to a favorite podcast of mine the other day when the panelists began discussing the difference between heist films and […]

Goodbye Stranger By Rebecca Stead Wendy Lamb Books (an imprint of Random House Children’s Books) $16.99 ISBN: 978-0-385-74317-4 Ages 10-14 On shelves August 4th After much consideration, I think I’m going to begin this review with what has to be the hoity toity-est opening I have ever come up with. Gird thy loins, mes amies. […]

Sidewalk Flowers By JonArno Lawson Illustrated by Sydney Smith $16.95 ISBN: 978-1-55498-431-2 Ages 3-6 On shelves March 17th When you live in a city, nature’s successes can feel like impositions. We have too many pigeons. Too many squirrels. Too many sparrows, and roaches, and ants. Too many . . . flowers? Flowers we don’t seem […]

Lost in NYC: A Subway Adventure By Nadja Spiegelman Illustrated by Sergio García Sánchez TOON Graphics (and imprint of RAW, Jr.) $16.95 ISBN: 978-1935179818 Ages 8-12 On shelves April 14, 2015 While I’m aware that public transport was invented to meet the very real needs of urban commuters, when you’re the parent of a city […]

My Near-Death Adventures (99% True) By Alison DeCamp Crown Books for Young Readers (an imprint of Random House) $16.99 ISBN: 978-0-385-39044-6 Ages 9-12 On shelves now Children’s historical fiction novels often divide up one of two ways. In the first category you have your important moments in history. In such books our heroes run about […]

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About A Fuse #8 Production

Features everything from librarian previews of upcoming children's books to news, reviews, and videos. If it has something to do with children's literature, it will rate a mention here.

Betsy Bird is the Youth Materials Specialist of New York Public Library. She's reviewed for The New York Times and Kirkus, writes articles for Horn Book and SLJ, and wrote the picture book Giant Dance Party. You can contact her at Fusenumber8@gmail.com or follow her on . . .